#THIS CHARACTER MAN. I have so many thoughts and feelings I can't articulate

[tapeworrmart]

Lone Star 🌟

#Yes I'm still thinking about this show. Haven't been able to think of anything else #THIS CHARACTER MAN. I have so many thoughts and feelings I can't articulate #So I tried to draw it instead #He's just... He's non human. He's isolated himself so much he isn't a person he's ethereal #True detective #true detective season 1 #True detective s1 #Rust Cohle #Rustin Cohle #matthew mcconaughey #fan art #art #sketch #character art

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Need more positivity on my dash, so I wanna talk a bit more about how fucking amazing OFMD's writing for its characters of color is!

Now, I'm a professional historian (phd student 😔🤘🏾) and I read and watch a lot of historical fiction because I love it, right? And I have literally never seen a piece of historical fiction that is so respectful to its characters of color.

Usually, in works of historical fiction that actually bother to include characters of color, they fall into two big camps. The most common one is trauma porn, where poc only exist so White characters can save them, feel sorry about them, or so White audiences can pat themselves on the back for feeling sorry about them. Also popular are works that include characters of color but don't bother thinking about how race impacts their experiences in historical settings (shows like Bridgerton come to mind; they want to include poc but handwave racism). And in general I prefer the latter but it still takes me out of the story.

But OFMD hits just this amazing balance. There are many characters of color, and the racism of the world they live in impacts their experiences and perspectives in realistic ways. Ed remembering how his mom told him that fine things weren't meant for people like him has me by the fucking throat, it's so tied up in race and class and it's the root of so many of Ed's self-image issues into adulthood. But the real kicker for me - poc always get the last laugh in OFMD. Yes, the racism in this show is often very realistic, but this isn't a realistic show at its core and it is so, so comforting to know a character who starts acting like a racist dickhead is a dead man walking.

It's so carefully written, and for me it's such a huge comfort: race in OFMD is never hand-waved away, and it's thought-provoking and realistic and relatable. But the show always feels so safe because we know racism in the show is never excused. They tell us in the pilot that if you start being a racist asshole, someone's gonna stab you. Even Stede, our main character - when he makes a racist assumption in the second episode of the show, the narrative encourages us to call him out for it and has a character directly call him a fuckin' racist! He's held accountable and he fucking grows, because unlearning racist biases is important and he doesn't get a pass because he's the main character!

It's not just that OFMD has a lot of characters of color. It's not just that one of our main romantic leads is an indigenous Jewish man. It's not just that characters of color are consistently depicted as smart, clean, competent, and respected. It's that the show respects them enough to think about how racism realistically shapes the world of OFMD, while at the same time providing viewers with a wonderful fantasy of racists getting what they deserve. In the genre of historical fiction, it stands out because it completely avoids the trauma porn and hand-wavey angles, and I can't articulate strongly enough how much I appreciate that.

#ofmd #our flag means death

[sukunasweetheart]

//just me venting about sukuna haters sorry

Not me seeing so much discourse about whether sukuna is a well written villain or not... he essentially has no backstory shown as of yet and we barely know anything about him but he is still one of the most naturally interesting and compelling characters in the whole damn series bro 💀 buckle up bc its about to get lengthy (im just glazing sukuna in this post ngl so 🧎‍♀️)

so many whiny ass mfs are weeping about how he "doesn't have any personal goals or a proper reason to be a villain" when that is the whole point???? He lives on his own desires and satisfactions and does whatever he wants to, because he is capable enough to do that. Mfs want "real villains" but cant even handle sukuna 💀 ive seen too many shit ass threads and poorly articulated "critiques" on his character that dont make any valid points. If you can't even separate your personal dislike of a character from your analysis of their writing, dont even bother posting that shit please 😭😭😭 the fact that we haven't even gotten any information about his background yet and people are jumping the gun about him being "poorly written" is already saying a lot 🤨

The fact that yall are so bitter and angry about him that you can write 500+ words about how oh-so-terrible of a villain he is kinda proves that he's doing his job well tbh 💁‍♀️

What also bothers me to no END is how people compare him with villains of other series, who had compelling sob stories that made people empathise with them. Thats nice and all but why should all villains have grand ideals and be subject to feelings of empathy/sympathy from their audience?

Part of what makes sukuna so interesting is how he's not tied down by morals, rules or long term goals in life. He doesn't limit himself, which is what makes him an unpredictable character. He's completely left behind what it means to be human in many ways, and he's clearly not a character written to be empathised with. He is very purposefully inhumane and distant from everyone else, and that feeling transcends from within the series to real life as well. There is a clear lack of understanding bc most of us can't comprehend what its like to just live without being goal-oriented.

Sukuna is a true anomaly in the sense that he doesnt really fit in any kind of box within the series. He's born from man, but its clear that he separates himself from humans (and nobody else considers him human, either). He's not a cursed spirit. He hovers between life and death. The narrator referred to him as the honoured one, whilst angel referred to him as the disgraced one.

These little contradictions in his character make him all the more complicated and interesting to think about. And even recently, he's been shown to waver a little bit momentarily in the manga, questioning his own irritation at yuuji. He's capable of self reflection, and though sukuna does whatever he wants for the most part, he doesn't blindly go into things without some thought first, he's a constant thinker and analyser, and an intelligent one at that.

And honestly, he is always such a joy to watch and read, his personality is so flavourful, and the way he carries himself is very attractive. He's not afraid to get messy or of getting hurt, theres so much chaos in the way he does things and yet he also has a huge element of gracefulness to him, which shines through the poetic way he speaks. Its undeniable that sukuna simply oozes charisma...

And this isnt talked about enough but this man is genuinely so effortlessly funny (in a kind of sinister way i guess?) Like yes he is an old ass man having real beef with one FIFTEEN YEAR OLD for very little reason, he accidentally healed yuujis arm and somehow expected him to be grateful for it despite how he literally ripped his heart out afterwards, then he proceeded to sit on him after kicking him down likeeee 😭 what kind of behaviour is this sir

His facial expressions at yorozus yapping 💀 THE WAY HE COMPARED YUUJIS FACE OF DESPAIR TO THE HARIMA STATUE 😭😭😭💀😭💀💀😭 omg that was so foul but i was fucking losing it ngl

How he randomly compared gojo to a fish and started talking abt his scales... thats a very unique and descriptive comparison, isnt it? Even in the recent leaks, he was 100% ready and squaring up to a literal child talking abt "youre starting to get annoying" LIKE HELPPP 😭 HE FR SAID "fuck them kids and fuck you too"

I saw someone saying that sukuna has no passion, like are we talking about the same character....? This man is a literal jujutsu NERD 💀💀 he truly recognises talented sorcerers and the only time hes seen to be having genuine fun is when hes fighting a mf... is that not passion? This is literally sukuna when it comes to jujutsu: 🤓

Anyway im done here now, im pretty sure i missed a lot of things i couldve talked about as well but ive done enough yapping

#jjk #sukuna

[otomotoelzhinee]

I love your comics shreebs very much. Well here my question.

Who was the first to confess his love for each other? shrike or beebs?

Thank you so much!! Gosh, this one I left pending for a while, very sorry about that.

This one has been hard to figure out for me, as I think both characters have a likely chance to confess their feelings for the other:

None.

For as friendly as they are with one another, I find it difficult Shrike would ever tell Beebs about his feelings towards him, which seems obvious as he avoids being vulnerable with others. He's the one most likely to withhold info from Beebs or even lie if necessary. (Not out of maliciousness necessarily, but out of a selfish desire to preserve himself, or even just avoid being made a fool out of.)

But so could Beebs, as there's many things he hasn't told Shrike about his past. I feel that, in Beebs' case, although he trusts Shrike for many things, he also can't quite trust him for others. He still tries to give him the chance to prove himself, but there's a certain fear of that trust being broken over Shrike's inability to control his own impulses and being... Well, not really emotionally intelligent.

There's also the awkwardness of falling in love with someone who's not just a friend, but a business partner. "What if things become strange if I tell the truth, but he doesn't feel the same? Will we be able to go back to normal? Will he think differently of me?"

Change is a scary thing, even in small ways!

Of course, ideally, they both like eachother. But they don't actually know what the other feels.

If Shrike were to confess, the only possible scenario I can imagine is him being drunk out of his mind. Yeah, it's that old trope~

I feel that Beebs probably doesn't think highly of himself, so in a random conversation with a couple of drinks, they start to open up just a bit with eachother. Beebs would feel embarrassed saying he doesn't think he's that attractive, that he can't see himself being liked by someone else.

To which Shrike beings a long, almost nonsensical ramble, not really thinking about his words or how to articulate them.

"Nonono, no Beebs, listen. Listen-- HIC! Bee... You are, SO beautiful, amigo...Ur like, REALLY handsom' an'-- an' tall... An' real nice! And..."

He makes random gestures with his hands before pointing out Beebs in his entirely. "Well y-your such a good guy too, damn it!"

Beebs laughs at this, but Shrike only grows more frustrated, crawling his way over Beebs and getting closer has his rant continues.

"Look, look. When I see u. I see this guy... This nice guy doing his damn best! ...To do da right thing... You are annoyingly nice about it!! You're too kind! And so--" Another hiccup. "S-strong! Th-There's so much about you to love!!"

He grabs Beebs face, with Beebs continuing to laugh at Shrike seemingly so angry over the subject.

"Fine, fine!" Beebs goes. "I get it!"

"No! No quiero escuchar esa mierda...Salir de tu boca otra vez. Okay?"

Beebs nods.

"I love you a lot, man. Donchu know?"

"D'aw, yeah." Beebs replied. "I love you too, man."

"No, no, no..." Shrike's head falls on Beebs shoulder.

Beebs chuckles and pats Shrike's back, reassuring him again that he means it. But he stays there for a little bit, and Beebs just let's him be.

Until Shrike pulls away with a weak grasp, and looks at Beebs in the eyes again.

"I don't..." He mumbles.

"...Say that..." Something, something.

"...Cuz I..."

Beebs calls for him, confused as he realizes Shrike's trembling arms over him.

But before he can put together what's going on, Shrike puts his hands to squeeze his face again, and Beebs heart starts to race with Shrike only getting closer by the second.

"...What's going on."

And just as that thought crosses his mind, Shrike falls on his other shoulder, a long and strenuous snore coming out.

But Beebs stays there, his legs, his arms, his heart, all numb. He can't even tell if he's breathing anymore.

It takes him a couple of minutes, until he looks down at Shrike, completely gone.

He'd take him back to his bedroom, clean after their mess, walk around the place. But nothing is gonna help him release these thoughts, all these questions of what just happened. And more importantly, what will he choose to do about them.

I don't think Shrike would remember anything the next morning, but here it depends on Beebs if he will bring up the situation to Shrike. Or if he will let it pass as another one of Shrike's antics because of the alcohol.

If Beebs can trust Shrike enough to discuss something like this with him, then I'd like to think they would have an honest conversation.

One where Shrike might try to deny everything at first, but Beebs would push him to stop running away from it. And with no other choice, Shrike faces his friend and comes clean.

And with that, so would Beebs.

I also think there's other situations where Beebs could be driven to confess to Shrike, but I think part of me finds it more satisfying having Shrike facing Beebs and being vulnerable.

Probably a first for him, but it gives him an opportunity to trust Beebs, that he can trust someone, despite what his fears tell him. And by extention, so can Beebs. Finding someone to believe in again, to love, even.

#asks #idanart #monkey wrench #Monkey Business #sorry this is quite long but I hope its a fun read!! ;v; #I like trying to figure out characters and their motivations to do or say things and what would drive them to make cetain choices #it's likely these are ooc or that others might disagree #but I tried!!

[taylorswiftstylequestions]

omfg i'm sorry to rant but i NEED a sympathetic person to hear this. i like the every single album podcast more than most swifties, but today's ep -- and the last few -- are driving me insane. i am so fucking sick of hearing nathan and nora wring their hands over what joe might deal with. all harassment is bad, but i am done pretending that jake g and john mayer went through….any kind of wringer? they had like...a semi-awkward couple of weeks? jake is still a mega a-lister and john mayer is widely considered to be one of the greatest living guitarists. fuck, what mayer did was outright predatory -- and he's done it to multiple women -- and lbr, he lives 99% of his life totally unperturbed by it. he's not losing gigs or status in the places that matter to him; i suspect a lot of swifties aren't aware of this but i'm a guitar nerd, and uh, yeah, he's considered a living god and no one gives a shit what he did to taylor. and literally everyone woman in the public eye, including taylor, goes through worse every single fucking day, even at their heights of popularity. i don't know how to deal with hearing nathan and nora worry about :(((( omg what will joe go through :((((( when he's never going to have disgusting ai porn of himself explode across twitter on a random weekday. maybe i feel this strongly b/c i work in games, where hordes of male fans regularly ruin random women's lives because they animated a female character wearing a t-shirt instead of a string bikini, but i can't deal with this anymore. these men are fine. lots of people get mad at them, but it's because they did truly shitty things to her and she refused to absorb it silently. then it breaks, and their lives go on.

---

I feel like Nora really articulated what Anon was trying to say the other day about along the gist of "I hope something really bad happened to justify all of this." Interesting perspectives! Btw I just want to be super clear that I don't think Taylor or anyone has to justify anything like that! Just thought it was interesting how Nora put it in the latest episode and T's power is the unusual part of this equation.

---

In a very classic "I thought the two of you should meet!" re: today's The Ringer / Every Single Album pod episode.

I will say I read both of these messages before listening to the episode myself and tbh I think Nora ultimately landed in a pretty middle and reasonable place (it started out pretty rocky though) by the end of the episode. My understanding is she ultimately felt like Taylor has every right to tell the story that she wants / needs to tell and the work will speak for itself. That this is Taylor going face to face with the elephant in the room and (probably - we don't know obviously) not obfuscating the reality that we all saw play out in real time behind 'fictionalized' half truths roleplayed by semi-imaginary characters. And at the end of the day the (likely - AGAIN WE DON'T KNOW) reality is that she's prepared to walk through the narrative that is this pressure cooker storyline many are waiting with baited breath for which is the deterioration of her most significant relationship to date.

All that to say is that I think both of these points are incredibly valid. I personally have a lot of feelings wrapped up in it that do tend to come down more on the side of it's strange that the default position is this desire to sign up as first in line defence attorney for a man when the crime as we know it is 'woman writes her life into art'.

Nora interestingly noted that there's a "pressure for this album to come with receipts" (paraphrase) based on this (fan) hyped up narrative of something sinister having gone awry that this album will pull the curtain back on. And if it fails to do that, enter said self-appointed attorneys.

#opinion #tss nanonsense

[saintsenara]

Absolutely no pressure if it really does make you uncomfortable to talk about but I would LOVE to hear about why dramione pisses you off... first and foremost because I'm a card-carrying dramione hater and there's nothing quite as enjoyable as a fellow hater articulating their haterade. Please. I'm handing you the mic. Go to town. (If you want!)

thank you very much for the ask, anon - and it's very sweet of you to ask whether dramione makes me sincerely uncomfortable [it doesn't, and if there's ever a day when i find harry potter shipping preferences that deep i shall face god and walk backwards into hell]. i subscribe to one belief in fandom above all others - that you can write yourself into, and out of, the most nonsensical premises if you are willing to engage with your characters in their full spectrum and if you have enough nerve. which is to say, there is almost certainly dramione out there that i would regard as interesting and well done, which feels coherent as a premise within which to situate both hermione and draco's canon selves, and which does so by being unsparing in how it deals with the whole "he thinks she's literally subhuman" thing...

but the reason i don't like dramione as a pairing is because i've never actually seen it done in a way that actually is interesting.

i'm on the record as a straightforward hater of fanon!hermione - the preternaturally perfect, incandescently beautiful "brightest witch of her age" [lupin means by this - please, i am begging you all to understand - that she's clever for a fourteen-year-old, not that she's some sort of epoch-defining intellect] who makes you wonder if we've all forgotten the early-00s flame wars over mary-sues. i am also on the record as a hater of the classic draco-in-leather-pants version of the other half of our pairing - draco is an insecure, pointy little dickhead whose jokes always flop, and he is so much more fun in this form than he is as the suavest man alive.

and, obviously, dramione is famous for being beholden to these characterisations [something, if i may, which is really letting harmony and snamione off the hook...]. and that is just so boring! even in a setting in which an author doesn't want to deal with the context of blood-supremacist prejudice - and good for them! why not! - i would much rather see fics think interestingly about how mashing draco and hermione's personalities together would actually go. how would he handle her constant need to debate things? how would she handle his fits of crippling jealousy? how would he handle her stubbornness? how would she handle his self-interestedness?

and i think something quite striking could actually come of this... as i've noted elsewhere, draco's narrative mirror is ron, who is obviously a ride-or-die hermione stan, and there is - therefore - a way set out within the arc of canon for thinking about how hermione and draco might interact. it could be a genuinely fantastic piece of enemies-to-lovers fun, but this would involve both hermione and draco's canonical characteristics being thought about [and harry and ron's: the former always seems to come around to dramione really quickly, while the latter is written as a death-eater-adjacent boor who doesn't want the woman who "belongs to him" to be happy], and i'm afraid that the vast, vast majority of dramione writing seems to have no interest in doing this when "just make him suave and her perfect" exists...

but, of course, there is a second major objection which i know many people have to dramione: that he is a member of a terrorist organisation which believes in eradicating people like her, and that he believes wholeheartedly in that organisation's beliefs.

and my feelings about this are more complicated.

because, to be frank, as someone who has - only this week - written harry having a sensual little snog with his parents' murderer, i can't really get up on my high-horse about people shipping the heroes with the villains. and, indeed, i won't - another fandom [and life!] principle i have is that the potential of redemption for everybody is one of the most important things about humanity; that even the most evil people can repent and repent sincerely; and that love is strange and unpredictable.

i do think something interesting could be done with draco having to unlearn literally everything about his life, and with both him and hermione grappling with their personal limits when it came to remorse and forgiveness as they realise that, against all the odds and no matter the heavy weight of the past, they want to make something together. but, once again, the standard move in dramione seems to be a sort of "nooo, he didn't really mean it!" or a "hermione gets over it immediately because he didn't rat them out when the snatchers caught them!" [no - he didn't rat harry out. he doesn't seem to have a problem with hermione getting tortured by bellatrix...] or a "well harry using sectumsempra means i'm over the fact he called me a mudblood" or "uwu he was sixteen". and, once again, i think it's dull!

and this, of course, brings us to the other category of dramione - the one in which she's a dirty little fucktoy for a sadistic pureblood lord. while this is at its worst in other hermione/death eater ships, we've all seen the fics: hermione is given to draco as a forced bride; hermione is given to draco as a sex slave; hermione is given to draco to be degraded etc.

i have no moral objection to people wanting to read and write this stuff, because i'm neither a cop nor a priest. my objection, once again, is that this is dull.

i think there is something really, really interesting which could be done with draco finding himself attracted to hermione despite what he's been raised to believe about her, above all for the way this could be used to play with the gendered dynamic we might expect to find when this trope is used.

discrimination is justified by societies - again and again throughout the course of history - with the claim that it protects women [and men's claim to them]. we can imagine easily that this is the same in the wizarding world because voldemort literally tells us so - in the opening chapter of deathly hallows he explicitly equates tonks' marriage to lupin as the cause of the "rot" in the black family tree, before he goes on to murder charity burbage while accusing her of supporting miscegenation.

what we see less frequently is the idea that men need to be protected from the other - societies are much more amenable to seeing men's behaviour as hypocrisy [and tolerating this] rather than moral corruption, and we can assume in the wizarding world that it would be perfectly acceptable for a pureblood man to have a muggleborn mistress or a half-blood love-child in a way it never would be for a pureblood woman.

so how does draco justify his attraction to hermione to himself? how does he keep her a secret? how does he think of women more generally, if he has a pureblood wife at home and a muggleborn woman he cheats on her with? does he see nothing contradictory about sneaking off into broom cupboards and then strutting into the slytherin common room and telling pansy parkinson that hermione is a digusting mudblood dog?

or, does he get the other side of the coin? do lucius and narcissa think he's being corrupted? is his temptation all-consuming? will he lie about hermione attacking him to save face? will he turn on the tears and place her in unimaginable danger and then feel only the slightest hint of regret?

and i just think that has so much more potential than your standard "draco's sadistic but, more importantly, he's hot" stuff.

because i will read things that are objectively baffling if they are, at least, interesting. dramione nation, i'm begging you... just be interesting.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #hermione granger #draco malfoy #i'm not tagging the ship tag for obvious reasons #but also i'm not tagging the anti tag because this ended up being nicer than i was expecting... #i contain multitudes

[fancifulplaguerat]

I have further spare Aglaya thoughts. Cannot stop thinking about how whenever Aglaya mentions her hatred towards Nina it's predicated on Nina's cruelty/disregard for others contrasted against Aglaya's lines like “To this day, I've been paying for my kind-heartedness,” “It's a pity that everyone sees an enemy in me. Such is the bias against inquisitors. I only wish to do good; not specific, targeted good, like that Clara, but overarching good,” “I am a humanitarian. My duty is to save people, not kill them. I only condemn a few to death for the sake of the many.” That “I've been paying for my kind-heartedness” and “It's a pity that everyone sees an enemy in me” just make my heart hurt for her because I do sincerely believe her. Yes she is cruel towards Clara and deceives Daniil but I've said it before I will say it again: 1) I love Daniil so very much but *everyone* warned him not to trust her and 2) nearly every Patho character is an opportunist and/or trying to act after being dealt and incredibly shitty hand, which often results in deception and cruelty towards others. Aglaya is no different in my mind.

Also a particular detail in her dialogue which caught my eye is when she remarks that, “For a moment, I thought [Block] was driven by the same feeling that I am: a great man, when unexpectedly betrayed by the people he loves, will often seek to fill the whole universe with his blind spite. Yes, the feeling is indeed familiar...” I wonder what this refers to. My first thought is presumably Nina, but I can't quite imagine Aglaya feeling betrayed by her? It seems like they were too opposed? Like. I have no idea if I can articulate this well, but: Nina and Aglaya seem so alike yet fundamentally different that I just imagine tension would be endemic in their relationship. Also the way Aglaya characterizes her in the quote “Nina was the embodiment of absolute evil. The charming, intoxicating, beautiful evil, the evil that can drive you mad. The graceful and elegant evil that is fast to capture anyone in its web—even those who stand up to evil till the very last.” She calls Nina evil constantly. It is the lifeblood of her motivation—to destroy what her sister created. But that betrayal lines makes me think about what sort of uncomfortable love one can only have towards a family member that they fucking hate, like Aglaya does indeed think Nina is evil but also she is her (little?) sister and presumably grew up with her and I doubt Aglaya could see her as just wholly evil. That entire mess. Just compels me, particularly in how it adds another aspect to Nina.

I often think about how Nina is this object of terror and adoration more than a character in Patho Classic. Even sometimes, in my opinion, more an embodiment of utopia as Simon is for creation. Everyone close to her or who merely knew her as Mistress absolutely reveres her, perhaps even more after her death (which I think is the point, but, I digress). So to me, Aglaya and Maria have the most interesting dynamics with Nina because only through them does Nina feel more "real" to me, insofar as a character can. The dichotomy between Aglaya and Nina nicely contrasts this to me. Yes other characters allude to Nina being terrifying and so forth, but Aglaya's declarations that Nina is evil aren't accompanied by any reverence or respect or adoration that often does other characters' discussions of her. And it's yes Maria idolizes her, but as a child idealizes their parent. That is entirely separate from other characters who appear closest to Nina in Patho Classic: Victor, Andrey, and Peter, all of whom presumably had some sort of romantic attachment to her (if to various degrees and requitedness). Maria looks up to her, and in her words, “shall become her, [...] shall overcome her...” Maria interests me in that vein, that she aims to surpass her mother, and thus her idealization is necessarily different than others' who solely worship her.

I did not intend to write that much but this is what thinking about the Kaina-Lilich women does to a motherfucker. Apparently.

#what in god's name did IPL put in the kai n family that makes me feel like I got thrown in a blender for sport #patho.txt #pathologic #aglaya lilich #maria kaina #nina kaina

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Thai BQL Favourites List Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me @feralmuskyscentedhoepran (I think other people have also tagged me but it's been a while and I don't remember, so apologies for that! - There's also the '9 favourite tv series which two people tagged me to do, so that's also on my to-do-at-some-point list!)

Favourite bl:

I mean, it's obvious if you've been following me for a while (but Be My Favourite is coming close!)

Favourite pairing:

Look. There are SO MANY good pairs, so instead of choosing between them I'm going to go a bit left-field and name a pairing who I can't wait to see together again because I ADORED them in 10 Years Ticket (not ql, I know, but they'll be in 23.5 so I think it counts).

Most underrated actor:

I know most people already know of his magnificence but I don't think he's properly led a show as a lead pair and he absolutely could. And I want to see it.

Favourite character:

I love so many for so many reasons but the depth of love that I have for Pran is hard to beat. He pined for so long and finally got his man. And I see so much of myself in him.

Favourite side character:

I'm going to cheat again and say a favourite side pairing. I loved these two, more than the mains in Golden Blood.

Favourite scene:

I mean, it has to be. It's impossible to express how much impact this scene had on me.

Favourite line:

I'm tired. Tired of pretending to hate you while your face has taken over my heart.

*chewing glass* There's something so unbelievably romantic about this line and how Pat is using it to confess that I can't articulate properly. It just hits me deep, deeeeeep in my feels. Watching it/listening to it the first time was an incredible moment. I don't think Pat could have said anything else here, nothing else could reach this level of perfection.

Most anticipated bl and why:

I was SO impressed by Jimmy in Vice Versa (compared to Bad Buddy), and I also really liked Sea in the series (my first time watching him in anything), so I'm excited to see how they've developed in Last Twilight. I'm also very excited to see what Aof brings next and especially because the show is dealing with a disability.

Healthiest relationship in a bl:

They love each other. They respect each other. They know each other so well. They communicate seriously when they need but also can tease and play with each other without damaging their relationship. They're there for each other when they need to be and will support each other above all else.

Most toxic relationship in a bl:

I don't even want to add a gif but, yeah, Tharntype probably. Or PrapaiSky (sorry LITA lovers).

Guilty pleasure series:

I'm not sure about the 'guilty' part (that implies I feel somewhat 'bad' liking it??) but maybe the guilt is loving the pain and angst that Vi and Mark go through.

Bonus! Most underrated series:

I'm finding it hard to think of one because most of the series I really like, a lot of other people also like... Oh, I know... What Zabb Man. It didn't seem like a lot of people watched it when it came out. It was a good little show, not outstanding like others, but decent anyway (I don't quite remember the end though...) and worth checking out.

Thanks for the tag Vi! This was fun to do (even if it took longer than I thought it would!). I think a lot of people have been tagged already so I'll choose a few who may not have from my recent notifications: @sparklyeyedhimbo @callipigio @incandescentflower @spicyvampire and @vegasandhishedgehog

#bad buddy #23.5 #10 years ticket #sing harit #pran parakul #pitchbank #episode 5 rooftop scene my beloved #last twilight #love mechanics #what zabb man #that tag game #thai ql favourites list tag game

[loveislandthegame]

Is it possible to choose whether we want to have a rivals to lovers relationship with Liam or with Sienna. Is it possible to kiss Hazel? Where are Felicity and Rachel? The writers came up with the stupid podcast concept to give hetero players a new male LI but sapphics only get two options to pick from? From what I have heard MC is forced to kiss a man no matter what answers we give. 

There are ten male LIs. Sapphics aren't even an afterthought. I will burst into flames if the company makes a Pride post on their socials to promote their game. I want the Fusebox superfans who keep saying that the writers can't find a way to add more female LIs during the season because the show is heteronormative to explain to me why they can't add new female LIs once the show is over and everyone is hooking up with everyone. 

Please don't tell me that one kiss with Hazel would have been a disastrous waste of money. Het players get to romance every trashy man under the sun but sapphics can't choose which character we want to romance. Liam has a threesome with Bea and Hazel. Why would any woman with an ounce of self respect throw herself at the man who took advantage of her trust. Sapphics can't even have one kiss with the girl that we find the most attractive once the season is over? This has to be some sick incel revenge fantasy. The writers must really hate women to turn all the female characters into delusional playthings for the boys. There's no other explanation. There was not a single real female friendship. Everything about this reunion volume was disgusting. I'm surprised the story doesn't end up with polar bear jumping out of the bushes and mauling all the female characters. It'd have made just as much sense as Bea and Hazel fulfilling all of Liam's white boy fantasies. Because women of color are once again written to be toys for the sexist white man to entertain himself with before he confesses his feelings for the main character

we have the exact same thoughts ! this season bothered me for so many different reasons, i was gonna make a final thoughts post but i couldn't articulate it right (and rlly just didn't want to waste time on overthinking this shit lol) the main thing is i'm getting the vibe that someone involved with litg is ... idk, an incel with some sort of fetish for women being humiliated. genuinely wtf is up with all the season 5 islander sexcapades being shoehorned into the plot ??? 🙃

(and for real, there could've easily been a scene where liam & sienna both approach MC, the player chooses one to have a platonic convo with, & then get the "enemies to lovers" proposition if you choose to flirt with them first. i personally wouldn't have picked sienna over clauds, but it would've been nice to actually have choices in an interactive story game. unfortunately that's too much to ask for, since FB fired everyone that actually knew how to code) one could argue it'd make no sense for sienna to be an LI since she had no character development, but shit, neither did liam

and i have no idea why felicity wasn't there, in fact, i don't think she was even mentioned ? not bothering to create sprites for the other off-screen islanders is one thing, but she has a sprite. the two casa guys who didn't make it to the villa still showed up, so there's no reason why she couldn't have . it's just one of those things that further show that FB put zero thought into this reunion. the plot was all over the place and there's so many problems that it'd be impossible to list them all in one post. if bella's sprite wasn't in the files ahead of time i would've been convinced FB created this pile of shit the literal day before it was released

indeed, you're forced to kiss a guy during the game (it's already ridiculous enough that we were forced to play that, but if i had to kiss anybody i would've rather kissed hazel than any of the dudes...) i've read some people say that wlw players were "lucky" that we didn't get the liam conversation where you're forced to pick a guy (it's because bea is automatically the secondary LI) but we really aren't ... there was a point where i considered just sticking with jin so i could play the game without bursting a blood vessel. i know that loyal OG LI romancers had a miserable time as well, but on a claudia route your relationship is constantly belittled, disrespected, & worst of all centered around the guys you both used to be with. even at the damn reunion

i believe the threesome was with sienna? but i'd rather eat gravel than do a replay to confirm that. either way, your point about hazel and bea being reduced to objects for a white dude is 100% correct, it's so horrible

not to mention if both sienna and hazel are canonically interested in women in some capacity, why the hell were they not LIs? genuinely the only thing this showed me is that FB thinks straight men sexualising sapphic women is acceptable. i will also be bursting into flames if they have the audacity to make a pride post after this (they really didn't learn from the backlash they got from seduction games, that story on the matchmaker app where the canonically hetero MC considers pretending to be bi to "excite" a man 🙄)

i really miss when FB actually wrote multi-faceted characters, literally every single woman this season except (romanced) claudia & bea was "no thoughts head empty," just delusional, mean, goofy as hell, one dimensional, victims of plot induced stupidity, lacking common sense, lacking an understanding of consent. bombastic side eye, criminal offensive side eye

it doesn't help that the game makes it very clear you're "meant to" follow a certain path, and when you don't, it ruins the girls even more. in my playthrough i saved emel because she was sweet and i liked her personality...only for her to immediately become a clone of sophie, to the point that game literally acted like the things that happened to sophie before she was dumped (e.g. getting voted for all the bad categories in that couple challenge) happened to emel . i would say "idk how FB could possibly screw up this badly," but i already know it's because they're creating these seasons in a maximum of four months. hell, i wouldn't be surprised if it was just one singular month. absolutely zero proofreading or quality assurance testing in sight luv

gonna wrap it up here before i start writing a whole novel, but i will say: as a black queer player i'm honestly just sad about how FB continuously fucks up lgbt & poc representation 😪 at the end of the day "it's just a game," and all, but i'm still disappointed. we really deserve better😭

#love island the game #litg #litg season 8 #litg s8 #litg tempting fate #litg spoilers #spoilers #long post

[bunglegaydogs]

Hiiii I'm just sending an ask because they're all different posts (read : I'm lazy) so please don't mind me lol

First and foremost, YOU ARE AMAZING AT EXPRESSING YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR ESSAYS ARE ALWAYS SO NUANCED?? SO YOU SAYING THAT WAS A HUGE COMPLIMENT OMG- I love reading your bsd essays so much and it's just now that I realised that they're all your essays abaammw some of the best in the fandom really. I'm always baffled when in the middle of an essay you go "I may not be articulating my thoughts right" or "this is kind of just put together" because girl you're amazing! Never stop writing these please ajajahsbw ALSO! Hearing your little thoughts and feelings pop up in the middle of an essay makes it so endearing to me. Like, that's a whole ass person writing these many words just to express how much they like this show and they're so adorable! (So sorry if that's offensive idk if calling someone adorable is)

Also, completely unrelated lol but this is exactly why I prefer to ask people questions instead of googling! Knowing that the person explaining is a human has their own opinions and hearing their feelings and experiences is so much more better and relatable than reading stuff off a Google website. Also your pfp is the cutest everyone has cute pfps nowadays 😭 anyways yes cute pfp :D

Actually getting to the point now:

1) yes yes Oda and Dazai's relationship is so dear to me I love them sm and I adore seeing Atsushi all caring for his mentor 😭 he's basically Dazai's emotional support cat!! Dazai let the boy in please I'm begging you he can purr probably and it would melt away your stress pls pls (Maybe everyone in the ADA sees Atsushi as their emotional support cat...)

2) Mori is a piece a shit, and you should be allowed to say it. I'm never biased in my writing but I loathe that guy with my very being and the whole people who like Mori thing really got me reconsidering...was *I* the bad guy for not liking a character when I actively liked a character very similar to him? Then I realised, I completely respect and treat equally all the people who don't like/hate Dazai. I don't treat them any different just because they don't like a character. And that's what I should expect too!

There's no post defending Dazai, and yet I still like him because I accept his wrongdoings and want him to keep getting better, like Oda told him to. Yknow, the argument would be MUCH different if Dazai was a woman and not a man, imagine bashing someone for liking a teen girl and not liking the guy who groomed her to be his heir. Yeah, really puts things into perspective. I'm not sexist, I treat (respectful) men and women equally, but Mori is just. No.

3) I haven't see it before in any canon source material but I feel like it's definitely true. It's clear that Dazai WANTS to want to keep living, but he can't bring himself to want it because of all the pain he's endured. He literally said in dark era that the reason he joined the mafia was to try and seek meaning in life by being close to death and violence. It's ironic, Dazai feels the most alive when he's about to LOSE that privilege. It could also mean that Dazai only realises the "value" in living when he's about to lose it. Perhaps he thinks of things he could've done, things he'll regret, and that helps him to stop before he actually does it. But in my opinion? I don't think he finds anything of worth in that time. He just convinces himself that he does. This is a personal hc but it's probably likely to be the case.

If you've listened to the song My R, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.(totally recommend btw!).The girl in the song speaks to herself about her woes and the 'other' version of her comforts her telling her about all the things that she DOES have, but by the end of the song, she has lost everything of meaning and she can't comfort the "girl". It is only revealed that the girls she comforted are different versions of HERSELF that she stopped from jumping.

Anyways, in conclusion, SOMEBODY PLEASE GIVE THIS BOY A HUG HE DESERVES IT

oh my god oh my god oh my god

i am sat here on the verge of TEARS in my goddamn chuuya cosplay

okay okay give me a second i need to collect myself

you are singlehandedly the SWEETEST person ever im sobbing

literally i cant- thank you so fucking much! you dont understand how much this all means to me WOWOWOWOW <33333333

literally, my brain doesnt let me consume my content positively and so i always think that theyre quite bad or that im the only person who thinks that or that im saying all the wrong things lol

i have so many words and thoughts floating around in my little brain that i just cant find the words for, so thats honestly what those rants are, my delusional 4am thought processes when i deep things too much

and YOU THINK??? genuinely, thank you!!! i love reading people's essays and thoughts, so hearing you say that genuinely just warms my absolute heart <3

and yes yes i do get quite sidetracked very often and start just rambling and adding my own personal twists- genuinely i thought that was annoying for people to read, but you're just putting a big smile on my face right now :) and PLS DONT THINK CALLING ME ADORABLE IS OFFENSIVE I LITERALLY GIGGLED READING THAT SHIT FR. <333

i like to add personal experiences and thoughts into it, just to get my point across, put it into an irl perspective and let people also relate and see what im getting at. (unfortunately) i have the same experiences as most of these characters, and so that is why they're so dear to me and why i get very defensive and passionate writing about them!

and yes! getting your answers and stuff from irl people instead of strange irrelevant responses is much more preferred lol. it's more raw and in depth and definitely a lot more personal! and thank you so much!!! it's genuinely one of my favourite dazai panels istg hes such a pretty mf

1.) i love love LOVE their dynamic, i think it's one of my favourites in the show along with skk and ranpo and yosano. it really fucking hits hard, as all family dynamics do with me fr, idk what it is about them, they just get me. and yes!!! i love when atsushi shows that he cares for dazai it MAKES ME FEEL NICE <3 and that's so real oh my god hes a tiger please PLEASE he can fucking PURR (there was a tumblr post i saw, i can try and find it but it made me actually cry laughing)

THIS ONE i was fucking howling but yes! their relationship is also one that really really gets to me! and yes, he is just the ada's support cat, it's canon, i'm ranpo's sweets

2.) thank you thank you THANK YOU mori is an actual degenerate human being. he's not made to be liked or appreciated or revered, it's just fucking AEUGH. i'm not going to demonise the people who enjoy him as a character, but seriously, it's a big red flag to overlook the canon pedophilia. i saw someone make a defense against him saying "yes, but he's never actually touched kids, so that doesn't mean anything" SORRY? they also went on to say that he "restrains himself" from having pedophilic thoughts with elise, and basically praised him for that. needless to say, it got me feeling fucking icky. and yes! i feel exactly the same. i always think that "oh, maybe i'm the awful one for not liking him? am i bad?" even though, no, i'm perfectly fine thinking that way and i am allowed to think that way. and exactly again! dazai is my favourite character, but i recognise his flaws and his mistakes and don't forgive them. but he's actively trying to "be a better person" (i say this in quotation marks because dazai sees everything he does as inevitably pointless, but still wishes to uphold oda's dying words. i am definitely going to make a post about this in the near future lol) and i dont make my analyses biased towards him, and i stay on neutral ground UNLESS personal opinion comes up, to which i then say that it's my personal opinion, not fact, and that it's anybody's choice to think however they want. if somebody doesn't like dazai; okay! i'm interested in talking with them, and we can both talk about things we're very passionate about and have healthy conversations! unlike some people i have seen on reddit, goddamn. but no, we're not the bad people for hating that knobhead fr. we should all treat and be treated the same as any other fan in the fandom and get along, and i wish we could ALL do that in non-toxic ways. 99% of this fandom are the loveliest people ever, but that 1% just needs to get a grip like omg. we should treat others how we want to be treated, regardless of who favours what ship and who likes what character. and real!!! if gender roles were reversed for dazai, this would be much more problematic, and that's upsetting! dw dw, i dont think its sexist, i think its putting things into perspective bc, either way, its shitty how he was treated. i fucking hate mori. whenever i see people defending him to like, the bone, like not getting into a decent discussion and being civil but instead bashing everyone who says otherwise and completely overlooking the abuse, manipulation, grooming, pedophilia and just him as a sick and twisted person in general, it just really irks me. as someone who has in fact had to deal with separate strands of abuse including many fucking counts of sexual abuse and pedophilia, it disgusts me seeing people overlooking it and it makes me feel fucking sick. that shit is not just something to be overlooked because of the fact that you enjoy mori as a character, he's not supposed to be a character that's consumed positively, he's a bad guy. a lot of characters in bsd are morally grey, but mori is just fucking morally black. he's downright evil.

(TW for suicide and self harm next btw :) )

3.) yes yes yessss!!! again, bringing personal stuff into it, i deal heavily with the whole topic of suicide and self harm. i've attempted twice and still deal with thoughts of it every single day, as well as self harm. so, this is one of my main reasons of dazai being my absolute favourite character, because of the representation and actual presentation of these topics. at first, we're shown them in a whimsical and whacky way, then it gets so much darker once we get into the dark era. it's a complete tonal shift, and it really sets in the gravity of the situation for him. and, as you said, he wants to have that ability to want to keep going and living, and he wants to be able to put the effort in, but he can't/ he physically cannot. as much as he would want to try, he can't. and yes, when he said that it fucking BROKE me fr. just at the chance that he's not able to keep living on anymore as a human is the one thing that keeps him alive, i fucking love asagiri's writing, it's so complex and beautiful. and its so so so real!!! youre literally right idc lmao. youve so eloquently said it im crying, youre putting all my thoughts into words <3

and yes!!! i have listened to the song, i absolutely LOVE it! and i never fail to think of dazai whenever i listen to it </3 and, i also think it's very very much like dazai, because of the multiple different versions we see of him too. chuuya hasn't exactly changed much, but he has gone through some very very complex and deep character developments, such as in fifteen and stormbringer. hes a lot more "tame" and respectful now, and a lot more mature. (except with dazai lmao) aku, we see he's changed slightly thanks to atsushi, but still no major character fucking flip arounds. all these characters we've watched slowly become better and more complex throughout the series. dazai? he just does 180s every single fucking year. hes different at 14 and 15 than he is at 18. hes different at 18 than he is at 20-22. and the different faces he puts on for each and every person, all his masks that he has. there's much variety to dazai; you never know what you'll get. there's so many different sides to him, because he doesn't know who he is. as odasaku saw him, "a lost child crying out". no matter the age, no matter the state, dazai is always going to be harbouring that broken child with him, trying to hide it and build up walls around it, because the only time he's ever shown it, he's gotten hurt or betrayed and lost some key figures in his life. trust issues much?

anyways i am sorry i am sorry i rambled too much lmao

in conclusion, YES, GIVE HIM A FUCKING HUG OH MY GOD PLEASE I JUST NEED SOMEONE TO HUG HIM PLS GOD LET ATSUSHI GIVE HIM A BIG HUG WHEN HE COMES OUT OF MEURSAULT I SWEAR-

thank you so so so SO much for your kind words!!! sweetest person EVER fr <333333

thank you my love!!! /p have a lovely day/night :) <3

[gideongrovel]

Bro 👏🏾 is 👏🏾 yapping 👏🏾 about 👏🏾 that 👏🏾 man 👏🏾 again!!! 👏🏾

I wish I could remember more about what my thoughts on E/nel were when I first watched S/kypiea all those years ago,,,,, i was like what 10?? maybe 11? maybe 12?? idk maths isn't mathing,, and idr if I met him first through the Funi dub, or though my copy of Grand Adventure on gamecube, or the manga itself I can't blame myself for not remembering since its been so fucking long,,, and OP is one of those things that's quite literally always been apart of my life,,,,, my obsession coming and going in waves, but still,,, idr it never not being a thing in my life,,,, 😭

but anywhoooo I have figured out a couple small pieces to the puzzle of why i have snapped all these years later, and why i want that man (E/nel)!!! Okay so since in my youth I use to ship with Z/oro (I do not anymore, i personally feel too grown for him, and im just not into him in a shippy way anymore) but when I was younger and into Z/oro, his S/kypiea outfit was my absolute favorite (gonna mention Grand Adventure again- id always pick that as his outfit in that game lol), but i think that was my main focus when watching/rewatching that arc back then lmao,,, And while im not religious now, i use to be a christian when i was younger,,, so E/nel's whole god shtick probs was an ick to me back then,,,, so thats also a potential reason of why i didnt feel any shippy feels to him when i was younger,,,, 🤔

but now in this current day and age,,, those barriers weren't there,,,,, god complexes are hot to me- i love blasphemy and i didnt have someone else drawing my attention,,,, so i think thats a couple reasons of why these feels arose,,, My preferences with characters i lust after is different now then it was back then, and he checks alot of boxes for me "maybe, just maybe, its mental illness innit" so its not surprising when i really think about it,,,,,, its just funny it took over a decade to like smack me in the face,,,,, especially cause ive seen the arc many of times so i had many chances for it to happen 😭😭😭

i cant find it but i saw diagram once, it was like two separate lines meeting, then going their separate ways, then meeting back up again,,, and thats what this feels like??? not in like a rekindled old flame way,,,, cause he never was a flame, he was just someone i knew,,,, idk i guess its more like an "Oh. Oh." moment,,, like actually catching romantic feel for him (and not just sexual ones like i originally thought it was) has felt kinda comforting in some odd way??? that may sound off the wall given the type of character he is lmao,,,,,

But my thoughts are like it was a "wrong place, wrong time" back in the day,,,, but now,,, now we found our ways back to each other, it may have taken some time but things have aligned perfectly,,, and we're together now, and that is what matters in the end,,,,

idk what im on about truly,,,, articulating my emotions for this man feels *make vague idk gesture* if you wasted your time reading this im legit sorry 💀 I just love E/nel alot,,,, and this development of feelings these past couple months has my head spinning

#my post #saskia don't look

[gillyweedgrl]

Current Tag Game

Asking me things is dangerous, you almost always get more than you bargained for, but here goes nothing...

Tagged by @thegalwhorants, sorry this is so late, I apparently had my notifications turned off 🤦‍♀️

Current Time: 12:51am and I should definitely be in bed.

Current Activity: Watching Ossan's Love HK and procrastinating going to bed.

Currently (Avoiding) Thinking About: The final episode of Venus in the Sky that I both desperately want to watch and don't want to end and the upcoming finale of Kiseki on Tuesday that I'm also dreading. I don't like endings, okay. I also have a lot of thoughts about Only Friends but there's too much of a pissing contest going on between the lovers/haters of each character/pairing (and the show overall) right now that I'm picking my battles.

Current Favourite Song: I've had Counting Stars by Gawin Caskey stuck in my head all week, I've listened to it on repeat several times. In general my current music fixation is on foreign stuff, mostly Thai and K-Pop and I have go-to playlists for both that I listen to pretty much every day at work.

Currently Watching: Venus in the Sky - Is it fantastic? No. Do I love it anyway? You bet. Am I ready for it to end? Never, I HATE endings! My Universe - Watching this bi-weekly so that I can watch each 2-episode story arc all together. The standouts for me so far have been You Are My So(ul) Mate and Lucky Love. *I'll be watching The Camp Fire tomorrow night later tonight. IFYLITA - I have so many feelings about this masterpiece and no comments. They nailed it. Even the ending, which I mustered up the courage to watch, it was beautiful and sad and hopeful, and I want season 2 right now. I'm sure others have better articulated thoughts about some of it's best points such as Bright and Nonkul's impressive performances, the beautiful cinematography and of course, the HANDS! Kiseki: Dear to Me - I came for the mafia and stayed for the cameos, I LIVE for the cameos! Both couples are great but damn are Chen Yi and Ai Di giving me major side couple syndrome. You Are Mine - Quirky and crazy and cute, loving it. I'm also watching Ossan's Love, the Hong Kong version, and am halfway through ep 7. I can't help comparing it to the original (which I just finished last week) but I'm loving it so far and have twice as many eps to look forward to.

Current Favourite Character: Right now I'm loving Siu Muk from Ossan's Love HK, he's such a sweetheart and he's pining so hard for Tin it hurts my heart. I want him to get his happy ending. My all time fave though is King from Bed Friend, hands down. That man went through the wringer for Uea and the heart eyes he makes whenever he looks at Uea make the hopeless romantic in me weak at the knees.

Current WIP: I'm shotcutting some scenes from Cutie Pie/Naughty Babe and Kixx x Kiss x Kiss, I've got a folder full of photo edits to do from an event back in June (that no one but me needs me to edit therefore I have zero motivation to do so) and I have some 30+ drafts right here I could finish and post but my brain, and the lack of seretonin at the thought of doing that, says no.

Tagging these awesome peeps, but only if you're up for it: @taikanyohou, @forcebookish, @burnsuncomet, @lutawolf

#tag game #current tag game #only friends #only friends the series #venus in the sky #my universe the series #i feel you linger in the air #kiseki: dear to me #you are mine #ossan's love #ossan's love hong kon #bed friend the series #dudes it's now 1:43am #and I'm probs gonna procrastinate some more before actually going to bed #good morning and in case i don't see ya good afternoon good evening and good night

[brother-emperors]

I'm so sorry if you get tired of answering asks about Pompey and Crassus BUT your response to the anon asking if Crassus let Pompey get away with things really got me thinking! Specifically about the way that Plutarch (I think?) says that Crassus didn't hold ill-will against Pompey for "stealing" his triumph. And how it feels like Crassus just kind of decided to shrug it off and instead asked Pompey for help for the consulship elections. Crassus seems so ruthless and direct while on the field, and I have so many questions about how he and Pompey worked together in Spoletium which will never be answered 😭 But then when it comes to politics I really can't see the pattern!

oh, I love talking about Crassus (and Pompey too, by extension), literally I can't stop. you can ask several people. I'll be talking about one thing, and all of a sudden: Crassus has entered the conversation. it's terrible, I can't stop. mostly, it takes me a thousand years to articulate my thoughts in any kind of way that makes sense.

I actually think that there are two times that Crassus subtextually calls Pompey a bitch, and the triumph incident is one of them!

specifically in that Crassus's comment about it:

Crassus, for all his self-approval, did not venture to ask for the major triumph, and it was thought ignoble and mean in him to celebrate even the minor triumph on foot, called the ovation, for a servile war.

Crassus is also not the first person to hold this sentiment.

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

I think it's important to remember that for Rome as a whole, the Third Servile War was terrifying because of the scale of the threat it posed to how an imperial wheelhouse running on a slave economy functions, but also because it's really fucking embarrassing for Rome's identity.

Crassus is also not the first person who commands the leading role against Spartacus. Spartacus goes through two other commanders before Rome asks Crassus to enter the scene. Crassus specifically is a private citizen when he is asked to step into this role: up until now, Rome's own praetors and consuls have failed to rise to the occasion.

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic, Allen Mason Ward

this is a deeply humiliating moment for the Roman reputation and identity. Pompey taking credit for Crassus' victory is an expected power grab, but it's also kind of cringe that he did it. Crassus was doing Roman's Duty To The State (or, if you like a spicier take on it, may have pulled strings for it. after all, you can't consider a man rich unless he can fund his own army. and the army Crassus brought with him for this was is own)

and so taking credit for that is like. man. this was NOT a "glorious war" that was fought. (Lucullus cites this as a blemish on Pompey's character during his vulture speech, it's very fun!)

so while Crassus may have realized that writing back to Rome and requesting back up was a mistake because whoever showed up would have the world's easiest time taking credit and accepted that it would happen, I do think that he took alternative measures to even the playing field in a 'okay sure, have your triumph, but don't think you're going to have it all,' kind of way because he also does this

Marcus Crassus and the Late Roman Republic, Allen Mason Ward

Pliny, Natural History 15.125

Gell. NA 5.6.23

Cic. Pis. 58

which does not strike me as the behavior of someone who is letting Pompey just run away with it without any kind of pushback.

and now to throw out literally everything I just said about the Triumph Incident, B.A. Marshall (whose article I've cited several times already in this) has an incredibly compelling case to make that there wasn't really as much conflict between the two over this as ancient narratives might indicate (which. seems to be a recurring theme with them)

Crassus' Ovation in 71 B.C., B.A. Marshall

I will stick to my narrative speculation that some of their respective peers probably thought it was at least embarrassing behavior on Pompey's part, because Lucullus has a lot of vitriol to direct at Pompey, and he does cite this incident as something negative to Pompey's overall character) someone who steals credit and glory from other people). so. hm. I think the assumed personal and periodically biting rivalry (in addition to the usual political rivalry) between the two is extremely fun, but so is. this. thoughts! much to think about.

#.....i think i got a little off topic here. i actually have a writing doc up bc i wrote a whole draft for a reply #bc with patterns in their politics is like. ohhhhhh my god do i have thoughts about how they keep working together. #even when they're fighting they're working together it makes me unwell #people will speculate that pompey and crassus may have worked together to avoid another civil war during their lifetime #and i was like. well that's kind of generous. but its like. well. WELL!!!!! #unfortunately a lot of the political undermining and scheming and fuckery fully broke the republic beyond repair like RIP. so sorry for #you all. i cant even fully blame it on them. after all. they are considered sullan proteges. the ghost of sulla strikes again! #anyway i think politically he has a different kind of ruthlessness: iron clad conviction and the brains to know #how to accomplish it. terrifying combination! #like when people were in my tags going 'good for him!' about punching a fellow senator #like babes. he was not the good guy in that moment. what they were trying to pass was very much Not Good For The Republic #like he was absolutely eroding the fail safes on the roman republic political system On Purpose #ask tag #long post

[webbywatcheshorror]

Saw (2004)

You (probably) know what Saw is. On the slim chance you're one of today's lucky 10,000 who doesn't, it's a movie about a serial killer who puts his victims in deadly traps in order to teach them a lesson about valuing their lives, asking them what acts of violence or self-harm would they commit to keep themselves or their loved ones alive?

I won't lie to you. Saw is one of my favorite movies of all time, above almost all others. I've mentioned on a few other reviews how much I loved them, how much they influenced me, but this one blows them all away. It came out on video around when I was 15 or 16, and back then I hadn't had a lot of real experience with horror as a genre, but I thought I knew enough about it. And I didn't care much for it. (I used to be a huge wuss. I still am, but I used to be, too.)

Then my dad brought this movie home, and when I finally got around to watching it, I was entirely and irrevocably altered. Suddenly I realized that I knew absolute jack shit about horror. Its potential, the kinds of stories you could tell, the effects it can have on an audience. Without Saw, I would be an entirely different person, and I know how that sounds. I really do. But it's the truth.

Anyway, I said all that to impress upon you how very incredibly biased I am when it comes to this movie, so you can keep it in mind as we dive into more specific things during the review.

Another thing to keep in mind is that I am looking at this as a standalone film, and not the first of a franchise of films. (I might, sometime in the future, review the series as a whole, but not today.)

Review under the cut, and as always beasties and ghouls, SPOILERS ahead! (Yes. There are people who haven't seen this movie. Why they'd be reading this, I have no idea, but that's their business.)

Where do I even begin with Saw. I could talk for hours about it, the characters, the tragedy of it all, the in-universe details and the real life behind the scenes stuff. I am fully enamored with this film.

We'll start with the cinematography, since I'm not very knowledgeable on the topic and I'm less likely to ramble endlessly about it.

The scenes of the other victims in their traps, where it speeds up, really gives them a sense of mania, of panic. It really adds to the terror of the situation and gives these characters we get to see so briefly some needed characterization with the camera work alone. In fact, every time they do the choppy editing, it lends a feeling of tension that permeates the entire movie.

There's a scene, one of many, that has stuck with me these past 19 years, and it's the shot of little Diana Gordon sitting up in bed, half her bedroom shrouded in the darkness. On first watch, it's deeply unsettling, but even after you know who it is, it doesn't get any less fucking terrifying. One of my fears is the dark, not being able to see into a room or the entire room, because of scenes like this.

The characters. Good god, do I love the characters in Saw. They're complicated, flawed, neither good nor evil but a secret third thing: deeply human. (Except John Kramer, but we'll get to that.) They're all just People, trying to make it through the day, however they can. Adam, trying to pay his bills and keep himself fed by spying on people; Lawrence, dealing with the stress of being a doctor and a father who's lost his joie de vivre and decides to cheat on his wife about it; Tapp, wracked with guilt over losing his partner and letting Jigsaw escape, throwing everything he has into stalking the wrong man at the cost of his own health. The more we learn about these characters, the more fascinating they become to me.

Let's talk about John for a moment. More articulate people than I could tell you, in rich detail, about why he's not a savior, but I tend to just boil it down to this: you can't 'fix' people with trauma. I think John is evil, or close to it. Look at the people he chooses to punish- Paul, who cuts himself; Mark, who claims to be sick but is also seen out and about; Amanda, a drug addict. Paul could have depression or some other mental illness. Mark could have an illness that is only debilitating /some/ of the time. Amanda has an addiction problem. You know what would have actually helped them? A fucking support system. Some understanding. Not additional issues, JOHN.

John is, despite his tendency to target those already struggling, still an interesting person, as Zep says. He's also a hypocrite of the highest degree. Shaming Adam for being a voyeur, but drugging himself so he can lay in the middle of the bathroom floor for who even knows how many hours just so he can watch Adam and Lawrence fumble around? Pot meet kettle situation.

(I'm trying to keep this from becoming an entire-ass essay, I really am, but as I mentioned, I could do this all day.)

Adam and Lawrence's transformation throughout the movie is so intriguing to me. Lawrence, the logical Father Knows Best guy, used to always being the one in control of any given situation. Adam, low on the social ladder, prone to emotional outbursts, used to being kicked when he's down. By the end, they've become entirely different men.

Lawrence changes into an unthinking mess, acting on his out of control emotional state to an extreme degree, while Adam becomes a man who not only finally wants to live, but puts in the work to prove it, attacking Zep and killing him, with the kind of determination he hadn't shown until that moment.

The twist is still just so good. It was mind blowing then, and it's a great story beat today, almost 20 years later. When John sits up, Hello Zep playing in the background... it still gives me chills. To think of how Adam must feel, alone in a room with nothing but the dead for company, waiting on the promise of a severely injured man, thinking it's finally over.

Adam's screaming into the darkness breaks me a little, I won't lie. The horror of his situation finally overcomes him and all he can do is scream. That sound is burned into my brain, possibly for life. Then, the credits roll, with the calmness of the credits, Adam's cries still echoing before the quiet music begins to play, and the audience is left stunned. No relief for us, no relief for Adam.

In the years before the sequels, there was so much talk among my friends and I about what could have happened afterwards. Did Lawrence make it out? Did Jigsaw ever get caught? Did Adam die alone in that grimy bathroom? I used to make up possibilities in my head about ways Adam could be saved.

You see, I've always identified with Adam. Struggling to keep going, feeling outcast, chained in a place we didn't want to be, having to rely on others for help getting out, dismissed as juvenile, clinging to people that hate us because it's better than being alone, and wasting our lives because we weren't living them the way others thought we should, regardless of WHY. I had always hoped he made it out. Maybe in some other reality he does.

Anyway enough about that, let's move on. One thing of many I love about this movie is how it makes you think, really think, about what you would do if this happened to you. Would you, could you, crawl through a cage of razor wire to save yourself? Could you kill the family of a co-worker to save your own skin? Could you maim or dismember yourself?

There's an excellent podcast, Jigsquad Pod, that talks about this next point, but I have to mention it also. Jigsaw feels like a boogeyman figure. He sees your every sin. He judges you, then takes you from your place of safety- your house, on the way home from work, and punishes you. It can happen to anyone, anywhere. He can't be caught, can't be killed. He's a phantom. I love that feeling in this movie, the almost campfire story of it all, the way you might tell it to your friends in hushed voices at a sleepover.

I give Saw X ghosts outta ten. It may not be the movie James Wan and Leigh Whannell set out to make, it may have been rushed and stitched together out of all the footage they had and then some, but it's a masterpiece in my heart. It changed me, in hundred of ways I can't begin to understand, but I'm glad it did. (Not all of those ways are for the better, probably. I mean, I did spend several hours once, thinking up- in detail- what my personal Saw trap would be.)

As much as I love the entire franchise overall, cop-centric soap opera that it is, if it had stopped at just this one, I'd still be satisfied. I hope it never gets a remake, because there's no way it could ever be made more perfectly than it already is, flaws and all.

#saw #saw movies #webbywatcheshorror #webbyreviewshorror #horror movie #movie review #leigh whannell #james wan #cary elwes #shawnee smith #danny glover #michael emerson #saw franchise

[108garys]

Angela and Charlie?

so there's this thought that I don't really know how to articulate, basically Angela and Charlie occupy the same space in my brain and I can't really put my finger on why

Like on a surface level they are the same age, both wear glasses, have a similar hair and eye colour and have a lot of the same colours in their outfits but like, it's not that I think they're similar or equivalent of that they'd even get along, in fact they'd probably fight terribly and we already know through their interactions with other characters how that'd go but still... I mean they're both paired up with the same models in ships but it feels like more than that, so I guess they're sort of inexplicably adjacent in my mind and if anyone has any ideas about that I'd love to hear about it

Maybe it has something to do with the hypothetical past versions of themselves and all that, like Angela is pursuing higher education after her divorce so I wonder about how many dreams she had to put aside during her marriage and we all have a pretty good idea of Charlie at some bright eyed young man who was going to make it someday but all these years later he's still trying to make it and maybe that's it? The chasing of dead dreams and missed opportunities, the fine line between resilience and not knowing when to quit

It often happens that I figure my thoughts out on the way and this feels like a start to it all and maybe I'll actually get these thoughts in order but what do you think?

#Little Hope #the devil in me #The dark pictures anthology #The dark pictures little hope #The dark pictures the devil in me #charlie lonnit #little hope angela #ramblings #There's the starting of a thought here

[afilins]

Ultimate Ongoing Rofan Favorites in No Particular Order

((ongoing as in unfinished. some of these are on hiatus etc))

These are titles I've enjoyed from start to finish with no inhibitions and the ones I without fail always find myself looking forward to. People who are into rofan manhwa probably already know all of these, but I still wanted to put them in one place (:

1. A Stepmother's Märchen

What is there even to say anymore. Absolutely incredible story that does so much justice to all its themes and characters and that is drawn PHENOMENALLY. If you somehow still haven't read it PLEASE do. You won't regret it. Personally I think it doesn't get better than Stepmother's Märchen in this genre.

2. I Stan the Prince

This story brings me the most joy. I would say out of all of these I Stan the Prince has the best romance, i.e. dynamic between the two leads. I can't get enough of them and watching their relationship grow so tenderly is wonderful. Catch me giggling and kicking my feet alongside Angela, the protagonist, who by the way is incredibly lovable, it's impossible not to be fond of her. The art is another thing entirely - it's so obvious how loved this story is by how alive and full of endearing little details every single panel is. It just makes me feel warm inside.

3. A Wicked Tale of Cinderella's Stepmom

Best mom award goes to Mildred, my favorite rofan protagonist. She's in her forties, she's a dignified and wise noble lady, she was fully and seriously prepared to kill a man for hurting one of her daughters. I like the male lead but I'm also bitterly jealous of him because that should've been me. This is a story about women being awesome, and not in a superficial way!

4. Catherine’s Key to a Happy Life

I can't fully articulate why, but this series makes me think about Howl's Moving Castle. None of the characters are particularly similar, but something about the atmosphere makes me enchanted in the same way. I think Catherine could be a Ghibli protagonist.

Mysterious and lovely with an intriguing storyline. Chezare is one of the most charming male leads I've seen.

5. I Raised My Fiancé with Money

This one is new, but I can already tell it's most likely going to continue being very good. I don't have too much to say. The art is lovely and so is the very endearing male lead whose journey of overcoming his insecurity and low self-esteem is the center of the story right now. This manhwa's fashion game is on another level - Ilya never fails to look immaculate, and her throwing her seemingly neverending money around never gets old.

6. The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine

Rofan with action! It can be silly and funny at one moment and thrilling at the other. The next season is looking to be amazing, taking everything that the series' been building up and realising it, and the story is already very fun and engaging. The "tower-regressor-S-class hunter" genre of manhwa has been little by little meshing with rofan lately and I think this is the peak of how well that can be done.

7. Loveless Heroine

Thai manga!!! Now THIS is what I call a historical romance. Loveless Heroine interacts with its setting constantly and is very thoughtful about the way it represents the time period it's set in. There are also some queer themes which I absolutely love! This story feels mature and grounded, and I can't get enough of it.

8. Surviving as a Maid

This series has such a soft, melancholic feeling to it. At times it's empty, a little sordid, but it's also full of beautiful moments that you remember for a long time after reading. There's a lot of longing for many different things and I would say quite a bit of grief. Ash is a very unique and relatable protagonist with her own fears, flaws and dreams, and I like how both big and small her life is. Surviving as a Maid also feels very grounded, but in a different way from Loveless Heroine.

#rofan manhwa #romance manhwa #manhwa #historical romance manhwa #romance comics #rofan manhwa recommendations #manhwa recs #romance manhwa recs #romance manhwa recommendations